Chapter 2
It had been strangely easy to escape. Too easy, she thought as they made their way back to Takigakure. They didn't have much time to think and everything happened quickly. As Fuu dissolved the cocoon, she and Yoro combined respectively her Hiding in scale powder with his Shuriken Shadow clones and left as quickly as they could, with Kegon on Yoro's back. Yoro had calculated that their attack should have been given them at least 1 minute of advantage to escape, even if it wasn't a fatal blow. To disorient their enemies even more, Yoro and Fu sent three clones on two different roads leading to Taki. As for them, it had been decided they would take the longest.
The two men were jumping from branch to branch a couple of meters in front of them. Neither spoke ever since they left. As her spirit finally settled, gravity of the situation for Kegon was coming all the more evident to Fu. Without his main arm, he wouldn't be able to perform ninjustsu anymore. If there was something worst than death for a ninja, it was to be incapacitated. Being a ninja in a Shinobi village was the highest rank someone could hope for; especially if said person was a Jonin. Losing the capacity to fight was equivalent to lose one's own identity. And unfortunately, sometimes it would even end up with a suicide. This burden would follow him all his life if they didn't find a way to fix his arm. Her heart sink at the thought. But there was still a possibility to fix it. They brought the detached arm with them. She didn't know much about medicine and surgery, but if they stopped in a village on the way, they could find a doctor who would know what to do.
"Uh, Yoro-san, Kegon-san, is there a village we could stop? I mean,, not right now... But maybe later. So we could find a doctor who can fix Kegon's arm as soon as possible. It isn't too late, right?" Yoro and Kegon kept jumping silently at the same pace. She didn't know how far from the village they were. Maybe they deemed unnecessary to stop because they would arrive in time to see a doctor there. Seeing it wasn't a good time to talk, she let the sound of their sandals on the wood fill the distance. The forest seemed to run from the corner of their eyes, and before she could realize how far did they go, they were already in front of Taki's gate.
** * **
"What the heck man! Feeling compassionate for your fellow villagers? Let me tell you something, don't give a s*** to this things, they're not worth it. I tell you" Hidan said, gesturing his hands to enhance his words. There was nothing that annoyed him more than getting attacked and not being able to defend himself. He had been teased enough of being masochist when it wasn't even true, so being hurt so recklessly felt even more insulting. Humans were selfish cruel creatures that spread pain and death never assuming their sins - it was only fair to eradicate them from the surface of the world. Hidan looked around while he waled to where his partner was standing. He hadn't been able to figure out where those three went and, he sincerely didn't care. He wouldn't be able to kill them after all. He could have at least tried to capture the jinchuuriki... Kakuzu was standing next to the weird melted giant jar were the three shinobis were hidden only minutes ago. He knew that if Kakuzu really wanted, he could have caught her. He had been able to witness the man's strength multiple times and he was sure those three couldn't have stood against him more than a half minute if he employed all of it. But this time, he decided against it for some reasons.
Kakuzu didn't flinch as he heard the footsteps approach him, too absorbed in his own thoughts. Hidan stopped in his track and smirked. He remembered hearing something about age softening the soul, but he wasn't sure this could be applied to Kakuzu. Ever since their first meeting, Kakuzu had been nothing less than a cold-hearted jerk. The guy lingered only for money. Maybe that's why he didn't fight at all. But deep down, Hidan knew it wasn't completely true. He didn't know his past in detail, but he'd had to go through a lot during his long life. The man's eyes looked either angry or completely blank. Hidan knew better than to judge him. Life was a burden. Unlike many other people on Earth who were longing for immortality, but for him who had acquired it against his will knew how much of a curse it was. Carrying that burden alone was the price to pay for worshiping his god, but no one seemed to understand how terrible it was. No one except Kakuzu. He didn't know how it had happened to him, or if he even wanted it at first, but he clearly knew what Hidan was feeling although they had never shared their thoughts about it. They disliked each other, but it still pained to Hidan seeing Kakuzu like this.
Kakuzu didn't reply, instead he kept staring blankly in front of him. Whatever had pushed the greedy old man to let those three go, he would try his best to make him forget what was bothering him. And the only way he could think about was to start an argument.
"I bet it's because you were thinking about the next bounty, eh? No money, not worthy. Ahh, you're so tiring man, I'm really having enough of you... So what's next? We go after them or we take a break? Because if you don't want to chase them down, I have to pray for the sacrifices I couldn't be able to perform today. And it's gonna take a long time and I'm getting..."
"Shut up Hidan", he replied, turning his head on the other side.
"Okay, then can we go back to the headquarters? There's a hiding not far from here, right? 'Cause I have to take a shower too. Because of these a**** I'm all full of blood! And I don't know you, but their attack was quite dishonest. Seriously, I couldn't see anything and they threw that lot of shuriken! If I ever get my hand on them I swear..."
This idiot was literally giving him a migraine, but he wasn't in the mood of bickering so he just turned on his heels and headed back to the hiding. Hidan didn't seem interested at all at following the tailed beast to the village, which was a good thing. Kakuzu didn't want to set foot in his old village. They would find another way to catch her another time, or the chief would send another team. His head was getting a little fuzzy. The meeting had been quite unsettling. He wondered who on earth educated the girl like this. She had looked as if she had never put a foot outside. Kakuzu frowned. It wasn't unlikely that the village decided to isolate her. Just, what kind of life had she been living? As much as he tried to convince himself that it was the right thing to do, he had been unable to do it. Why did she have to die for something she wasn't responsible for?
Kakuzu sighed as he slowed his pace, carefully avoiding to step over a line of ants.